JONESBORO (2/22/12) - The Arkansas State baseball team collected its fifth victory over its last six games Friday night, defeating South Dakota State 15-5 at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field in the three-game weekend series opener.

The Red Wolves, in the midst of a 10-game home stand, improved to 5-4 overall and 5-1 at Tomlinson Stadium, while South Dakota State dropped to 0-4 on the season.

ASU scored in five different innings, recording its most runs since the 53rd game of its 2010 season. The Red Wolves piled up 16 hits, including a game-high three by sophomore Claude Johnson who also matched Ryan Emery with a team-high four RBI. Eleven different ASU players posted at least one hit and seven were responsible for at least one RBI.

Fighting difficult winds that were gusting up to 29 MPH, Cory Kyle entered the game in the fifth inning and allowed only one hit while striking out six to pick up the victory on the mound.

The Jackrabbits took an early 5-2 lead, but A-State responded with 13 unanswered runs over the next six innings. The Red Wolves scored three runs in the first inning, followed by four in the third, three in the fourth, two in the sixth and three more in the eighth. A-State produced nine extra-base hits, including a two-run homerun by Emery in the first inning to tie the score at 3-3.

South Dakota State finished with nine hits, including a two-run blast in the second inning by Andrew Melton to give the Jackrabbits a short-lived 5-3 advantage.